John McDonald and Susan Dougan

Timothy Chrystal Neil and Margaret McDonald were married at St John’s Church, Portugal Street, Glasgow on 16 Jul 1917. Timothy was on active service so no address was given for him but Margaret’s was 1 South Stirling Street, Glasgow. Margaret is the daughter of John McDonald, Iron moulder and Susan McDonald, M.S. Dougan. She is said to be a 24-year-old spinster employed as a wool sorter. Both her parents are still alive. There isn’t much more that we can derive about Margaret from her marriage registration but it should have been enough to find her civil birth registration circa 1873. This turned out not to be the case – I could not find a likely birth for her around 1873. I turned to the census returns to see if I could find anything there about her parents and I found an entry for a McDonald family living in the household of John Robertson and his wife and four children.

The McDonalds at the 1891 Census – 104 Pollokshaws Road, Tradeston, Glasgow

1891 Census Return for 104 Pollokshaw Road, Tradeston, Glasgow (Scotland’s People 1891 MCDONALD, JOHN (Census 644/12 32/ 3) Page 3 of 15)

This looks to be the right family; the names and John’s occupation fit well. However it shows that Margaret was born in 1890 – not 1893; specifically around June or July of 1890. So was this the right family? I looked for them at the next census in 1901 and found them living at 32 Cumberland Lane, Gorbals.

The McDonalds at the 1901 Census – 32 Cumberland Lane, Gorbals, Glasgow

1901 Census Return for 432 Cumberland Lane, Gorbals, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland ( Scotland’s People 1901 Census England, Wales & Scotland Census , McDonald, John (Census 644/12 18/ 29 Page 29 of 32 Item 147)

Here we see a household headed up by Mary Kimmot a widow aged 66, a hawker born in Ireland. Among her boarders are a John McDonald, aged 40 (so born ca 1861) and an iron moulder by trade; he was born in Glasgow. Very helpfully the enumerator describes the next three people by their relationship to him not to the head of the house. Instead of just repeating “boarder” for these others, the enumerator describes them as the “boarder’s wife”, “boarder’s dau” and “boarder’s son” making clear that they are all one family. John’s wife is Susan, aged 36 (so born about 1865 in Ireland), Margaret McDonald is aged 11 (so born about 1890 in Glasgow) and William McDonald is aged 7 (so born about 1894 in Glasgow)

Although I could not find a birth for Margaret, I did find a birth for William.

Birth of William McDonald (or Dougan) 8 Oct 1893

William McDonald (Illegitimate) [born] 8 October 1893 [at] 3h am [at] 154 Crookston Street, Glasgow [son of] John McDonald, Iron Moulder [and] Susan Dougan, Housekeeper (formerly Power Loom Weaver). [Informant] Susan Dougan her x mark Mother [and] John McDonald his x mark, Father. [Witnessed by] Jas Cameron Assist Regr. [Registered] 25 October 1893 at Glasgow [by] Jas Cameron Assistant Registrar.

Birth of William Dougan 3 Oct 1893 at 54 Crookston Street, Glasgow , Scotland’s People, (1893 DOUGAN, WILLIAM (Statutory registers Births 644/14 892 Page 298 Item 892)

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Although the register entry names him as William McDonald, the index reference is for William Dougan. I believe that it was possible for him to be registered as McDonald rather than Dougan because, although illegitimate, John McDonald is also present at the registration and says that he is the father. Normally you would hope that there would be a date and place of marriage for the parents as well, but clearly they are not married. In fact, I wonder if they ever married. If they did so, I have not been able to find any documentation for it. I looked for a baptism for William and found he had been baptised at St Saviour’s

Baptism of William McDonald (or Dougan) 1 Nov 1873

Parish of St Saviour, Glasgow Baptismal Registers 1893
William McDonald Illegitimate [son of] John McDonald [and] Susan Dougan, 154 Crookston St. Mother Cath (???) [born] 8 Oct 1893 [baptised] 1 Nov 1893 [Sponsors] Jane Gargill (?) [priest] Michle Dempsey

Baptism of William McDonald 1 Nov 1873 at St Saviour Roman Catholic Church, Glasgow, Find My Past, (Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms Archive Ref MP/444/1/2/1 Record ID: SCOT/RC/BAP2/0548199)

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It seems that John McDonald has been scored out but whether this was before or after it was mentioned that the birth was illegitimate is not possible to say. This is a good indication that Margaret’s parents were not married when she was born. According to both the civil registration and the baptismal record, the family live at 154 Crookston St, Glasgow. My copy of Susan Miller’s “A Guide to Glasgow Addresses 1837-1945” says that Crookston Street was in Kingston and was renamed Carnoustie Street which can today be found on Google maps and is less than a mile from the centre of Gorbals.

Returning to Margaret, as we noted above, the 1891 Census seems to suggest that she would have been born specifically around June of 1890. If this is the same Margaret McDonald who married Timothy Chrystal Neil and said she was aged 24 at the time, then there is a two – or three – year discrepancy. Given that we cannot find a birth or baptism for Margaret, this remains unexplained. My judgement, though, is that this is the right family.

I continued to look at census returns for John and Susan McDonald but could not find them in the 1911 Census – a problem I have had with a lot of my ancestors at that particular census. I did find them at the 1921 Census however and they are still living at the address that Margaret gave as her usual residence at her marriage to Timothy Chrystal Neil – 1 South Stirling Street, Gorbals, Glasgow – in 1921. Not only are they there but so is Margaret and her husband Timothy and their son, John.

The McDonalds and the Neils at the 1921 Census – 1 South Stirling Street, Glasgow

1921 Census Return for 1 South Stirling Street, Gorbals, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland ( Scotland’s People 1921 Census England, Wales & Scotland Census , 1921 NEIL, TIMOTHY (Census 644/17 21/ 15) Page 15 of 31)

Here we see the McDonalds in their own home. John McDonald is now aged 62 years and 1 month; although he was born in Glasgow, he speaks both Gaelic and English. He is a bath moulder working at John King, Ironmoulders. His wife, Susan, is 58 years and 3 months old and she is said to have been born in Donegal in County Donegal, Ireland. Also in the household are her daughter, Margaret and her husband and son. Timothy Neil is a boarder, aged 28 years and 5 months and he is said to have been born in Glasgow. He is a railway carter employed by Caledonian Railway. Margaret is also described as a boarder but is obviously Timothy’s wife and the daughter of John and Susan McDonald. She is aged 28 exactly (which gives us a date of June 1893 for her birth) and was also born in Glasgow. Her occupation is given as HD (home duties). The last person in the household is John Neil who is aged 3 and was born in Glasgow. He is the only dependent child of Timothy and Margaret Neil.

It seems clear from this that when Timothy was demobilised after the end of World War 1, – probably in 1919 – he went to live with his wife and son who had lived with her parents both before and after she married. Their child, John, was born on 15 Jun 1918.

Death of the McDonald’s Daughter and Grandchildren

What the 1921 Census does not show us, however, is that there had been another child born to Timothy and Margaret and that was Mary Ann Chrystal Neil who was born 25 Nov 1919 at 1 South Stirling Street. She died at the same address on 7 January 1921. Although her death registration says she was aged one and a half years at her death, she actually only lived for 1 year, 1 month and 13 days. Hence she does not appear in the Census.

At the taking of the 1921 Census (five months after the death of her daughter) , Margaret would have been about four months pregnant with another child who was to be named after his father. Timothy Chrystal Neil was born 9 November 1921 at 1 South Stirling Street. His life was shorter even than his sister’s and he died on 26 February 1922 aged three months and 17 days.

Margaret Neil ms McDonald died, herself, not much later on 31 March 1925. She died at Victoria Infirmary but her usual residence was 1 South Stirling Street. She was said to be aged 31 (which again raises the issue of her actual birth year). The informant was her husband Timothy Chrystal Neil, railway carter. She was recorded as the daughter of John McDonald, iron moulder, and Susan McDonald ms Dougan.

I deal with the birth and death of these two children and their mother in more detail in the main narrative of Timothy Chrystal Neil; I mention them here, only in a limited way, in the context of John and Susan McDonald.

Susan, herself, did not live much longer. She died 21 February 1926.

Death of Susan McDonald or Dougan 21 Feb 1926

Susan McDonald (formerly Dougan) [died] 21 February 1926 [at] 2h am [at] 1 South Stirling Street, Glasgow [aged] 62 years [daughter of] Charles Dougan, labourer (deceased) [and] Susan Dougan MS Bonar (deceased). [cause of death] Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Examined after death by J W Nicolson M.B. Ch.B. [Informant] John McDonald, his x mark Occupier (Present) [witnessed] Wm Bissett Registrar. [Registered] 22nd February at Glasgow [by] Wm Bissett Registrar.

Death of Susan McDonald 21 Feb 1926 at 1 South Stirling Street, Glasgow, Scotland’s People, (1926 MCDONALD, SUSAN (Statutory registers Deaths 644/17 100_ Page 34 Item 100)

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I have not found a definite death for John McDonald yet. Timothy Chrystal Neil stayed at 1 South Stirling Street after the death of his wife, my grandmother, Margaret McDonald. He gave the same address in February 1928 when he remarried but in that same year he is registered in the electoral registers as residing at 19 Coburg Street, Glasgow. We can be confident that this is the same Timothy Neil because at the same address in 1930 he stills lives at 19 Coburg Street and the next name on the register is Mrs Jean D Neil; Janet Downs who married Timothy Chrystal Neil on 16 February 1928.